


Struggles of Sorts

by urbaninja



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Twilight Town (Kingdom Hearts), sort of canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urbaninja/pseuds/urbaninja
Summary: Aced's not entirely sure why he’s here, or that he even should be here, but he’d needed to get away for a bit, think things through.A chance wander into Twilight Town leads Aced to do some thinking.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Struggles of Sorts

Aced finds himself in a town that is familiar, but not too familiar. 

The cobbled streets, calm demeanour, and yet still busy nature of the town remind him of Daybreak Town, but the sun casts a warm glow where Daybreak’s sun was always bright and full of promise.

He’s not entirely sure why he’s here, or that he even should be here, but he’d needed to get away for a bit, think things through. He’s seen the effects of what happens when he doesn’t do that, or worse yet, lets other voices in that would attempt to guide him. No, he needs to be on his own, and if that means being adrift in a strange place, then he can manage that. 

For now, he allows himself to explore this new world. It’s been a long time since he’s done something like this and it’s refreshing. He knows that his appearance brings strange looks, but he finds he doesn’t care. He just wants to experience this world. See how things have changed since his time. 

He’s probably a little too fascinated by the tram that chugs around the town, and has to distract himself by looking at a job board. He’s surprised by the busy restaurant and movie theatre and how busy the town is as the light dwindles. The warm evening seems to draw people out. Eventually he finds his way to a large open area with a sand pit in the middle. 

He hears the sounds of sparring and cheering and looks over, keeping his distance. He sees a group of kids playing an odd game with bats and balls, sparring and dodging, until a bell rings out and one of them falls back.

“Man, you beat me again.”

“Better luck next time, Hayner.”

Aced watches as one boy helps the other one up and can’t help but smile in spite of himself. It’s always nice to see a display of sportsmanship. The one called Hayner grins.

“I thought you said you were going to go easy on me.”

“I did. You just need to get better.”

“Or you could get worse.”

That gets a laugh out of the group. 

Aced watches the for a bit longer, until the group turns to go. As they leave, one of the boys who was sparring looks back and makes eye contact with Aced. Aced offers a small nod of acknowledgement before turning and heading on his own way.

**

Aced returns to Twilight Town several times. 

Luxu has been cagey on the next step of whatever is supposed to happen and it is difficult for him to sit still and wait for instructions. He needs to be doing something, and he supposes he can pass this off as learning about this world of the future. Luxu has given them gummiphones. Aced has no idea what he’s doing with it.

He’s doing another wander of the streets when someone collides with him and he stumbles forward. He turns to see the boy from before on the ground behind him.

“Are you alright?” He asks, offering a hand up. The boy looks up, and startles as if not expecting to see Aced and doesn’t take the offered hand.

“You’re the guy from the other day,” he says, and Aced nods, not sure what to take from that. Instead he just offers his hand again and this time, the boy takes it. There’s a familiar jolt up Aced’s arm that he hasn’t felt in a while. This boy can wield a keyblade. He pulls the boy up and they stand in the street for a moment, awkwardly.

“Oh, uh, I’m fine. Sorry for running into you,” the boy finally says, looking at the ground. It’s not an afterthought, just delayed.

“It’s fine, no harm done,” Aced replies, trying to sound friendly and nonchalant. Everyone says he comes off as gruff, or abrupt and he wants to not be that. The boy stands for a few more moments before seeming to decide that that’s enough and turns to go. Aced, perhaps belatedly, realizes that he doesn’t want that to happen. He still has questions.

“Actually, a moment, if you don’t mind,” he says and the boy pauses. “What was that game you were playing the other day? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Oh,” the boy brightens, “It’s called Struggle, it’s kinda the local sport here. I was actually about to go play again, if you wanted to see it properly. It looks a little weird if you don’t know how it works.”

Aced is taken aback by the sudden invitation but nods.

“I would like that. I’m new in town, if that wasn’t obvious.”

“Yeah, you kinda stand out, but that’s fine. This town’s got a few characters,” he says. “I’m Roxas, by the way.”

“It is nice to meet you, Roxas. My name is Aced.”

He holds back on his full title. It’s nice to be normal for a moment. Roxas smiles brightly, and turns to go.

“The sandlot’s this way, c’mon!”

He sets off and Aced follows. It doesn’t take long and Roxas gives a wave as he approaches the same group that Aced saw before. He pauses before coming closer, examining them. Most of them seem to be about Roxas’s age and then there are two older ones. Aced is surprised to find two more keyblade wielders among them. He hadn’t been expecting three here and he vaguely wonders if they’re part of a Union already (surely more have been established by now, new ones. Better ones.). He’s not sure how to ask though.

“Hey Roxas,” says one of the older ones, with bright red hair. “Who’s the bear guy?”

“Oh, I ran into the guy who was watching us the other day. This is Aced, and he was just curious about Struggle.”

Aced realizes that’s his cue and comes a bit closer, offering a small, slightly awkward wave.

“Uh, yes. Hello. It’s nice to meet all of you, and I hope you don’t mind me watching your game.”

There’s a quick round of introductions and while the redhead and blue haired men look a little uncomfortable, most of the teens don’t seem to have a problem with it. They seem used to spectators and quickly Roxas and another boy, Hayner, Aced thinks, are giving him a crash course on the rules. 

What follows is a demonstration match. Aced is suitably impressed. Roxas moves with the skills of one who’s been in a lot of battles, and while Hayner is no slouch, he doesn’t have that experience. He would make a good wielder one day, Aced thinks. He wants to say that but isn’t sure how to voice it, or how much he’s allowed to say. Truthfully he should probably just be keeping himself secret but at the same time Luxu has been lax on any rules they should follow. So who knows. He’s really not keen on following Luxu’s lead. He’s not sure how he feels about all the changes.

He’s called out of his thoughts by Roxas’s voice, asking him if he wants a turn and holding the bat out for him. He finds himself surrounded by several hopeful pairs of eyes of Roxas’s friends (they’re all so small compared to his height) that he finds it hard to say no. 

He finds himself in the ring, standing across from a girl with brown hair. Olette, he reminds himself, and settles into a stance. He holds back a lot but Olette doesn’t have the same experience as Hayner, so it’s a little easy to overpower her. Although she’s more devious than expected, and he is a novice at the game. She bobs and weaves and stays out of his way, making it hard to collect the orbs and by the time the bell sounds she is one ahead. They shake hands and Aced finds himself laughing along with the group. 

It’s been a long time since he’s played. It’s been a long time since he’s had fun. 

**

He comes back regularly, after that first time. 

The group accepts him and Roxas quickly picks up that he’s had some sort of combat experience. He doesn’t go as easy on Aced when they play. Aced doesn’t mind. He’s glad to have someone he can go a little harder on. He’s good at the sparring but still has more to learn about the game part of it. But he savours his one win against Roxas.

In the quieter moments, Aced works with Hayner and Olette, correcting their stances and showing them how to get more from their swings. It’s only for play but it might help in other ways, he thinks. And he’s missed this, if he’s being honest. He’s missed training people, guiding them. It makes them think of his Union.

He never stays long, though. And he doesn’t tell the other Foretellers what he’s doing. 

(Though, he thinks, Ira would probably like Roxas, and Xion would fit well with Invi. Gula would probably take Pence under his wing. There is a part of him that wants to show them these new keyblade wielders but with Luxu involved, he’s not so sure. He also doesn’t want to think about Ava).

**

They’re about to decide on the next match-up when a silence suddenly descends among the group. It’s followed by a loud rustling from a nearby alley, and then a large burst of shadow spews forth. 

“Shit, they’re back,” Lea swears.

“Lea, Isa, get Hayner, Pence, and Olette out of here. Xion and I will hold them off,” Roxas says with a surprising amount of force, and somehow Aced is not surprised that he’s a leader. As the rest of the group hurries off, there’s a flash of light and to Aced’s surprise, Roxas is holding two keyblades. A black one with a chain running down it, and a white one with two keen edges. Xion appears to have a more standard model. 

Roxas turns to Aced. 

“You should get out of here too,” he says, “The heartless will attack anyone”. Aced smiles.

“It’s alright,” he replies, and there’s a flash of light as his own keyblade appears in his hand. He almost laughs as Roxas and Xion’s jaws drop. He settles into a familiar stance from earlier, grateful to have the weight of his weapon rather than the light struggle bat in his hands.

“I can help.”

**

Between the three of them, they make short work of the heartless. Simple Shadows really, but when brought together they can be a force to be reckoned with. But they are different. Defeating these shadows does not bring forth lux, but rather he sees glowing hearts rise towards the sky. 

(He doesn’t like that. It scares him. The Keyblade War is still too close.)

As the last heartless is scattered, Lea comes running back into the sandlot with his own keyblade (confirming Aced’s suspicions, but he also notes the unique design.)

“Oh man, they’re all gone,” he says. “And here I wanted the practice.”

He seems to be waiting for a retort from Roxas or Xion but both of them have their eyes trained on Aced and Lea quickly catches on.

“I…didn’t know we had a new friend,” he says, voice low.

“Neither did I,” Roxas replies, and he meets Aced with a steely gaze. “Who are you, really?”

“And where did you get that keyblade?” Lea adds.

“And how did you know about the heartless?” Xion says and soon more questions are being tossed at Aced faster than he can answer. And truthfully, he doesn’t know where to start. Or how much he can even say. Maybe this was a bad idea but he just wanted to help out. 

“Can you give me a minute to think?” He growls, and the trio immediately quiets, obviously surprised at the way he snapped. Aced immediately feels bad and sighs, quieting his tone.

“I’m sorry. I just. It’s a long story and…”

“Just tell us one thing,” Roxas says, and there’s a note of concern in his voice. “Do you mean us any harm?” 

“No, never,” Aced replies, probably too quickly and he honestly doesn’t know because Luxu won’t tell them anything, but for this moment he knows it to be true. “I’ve been grateful to come here and play with you all. I just wanted to help.”

There’s a long silence and eventually the trio exchange glances, seeming to accept Aced’s answer. It’s broken by the sounds of the others returning, and keyblades are quickly dismissed to show that the threat is over. Aced follows suit.

“We’re gonna talk about this more later,” Roxas says.

**

Struggle games resume with a little less enthusiasm, and eventually everyone drifts off as the sun starts to set. There’s talk of ice cream and the clock tower and it’s usually now that Aced takes his leave, but he lingers. 

There’s a part of him that knows he could just leave. Leave and not come back and let the questions lie until Luxu reveals the next stage of whatever this is. The more Aced thinks, the more he feels like it will lead to conflict. He doesn’t want conflict. He doesn’t want to fight anyone with a Keyblade again. The war was enough for that. 

Eventually it’s just Roxas, Xion, Lea and Aced in the sandlot. Isa had wanted to stick around but Lea told him to keep an eye on Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and he would fill them in later. Complicated Keyblade conversations and all that.

Aced sits down on one of the benches, tired. He hates that he feels old. He should be in his prime.

Roxas, Xion and Lea share a look and Aced can feel the questions starting to build between the three of them. He makes a split decision to cut them off at the pass.

“Three questions. I’ll answer three,” he says, “One from each of you. Again, I don’t know how much I can say, and truthfully, I don’t have all the answers. But I’ll say as much as I can.”

“You’re not exactly in the position to be making demands here,” Roxas says, his eyes set in a steely glare that Aced meets. 

“I’m aware, but it feels like the easiest compromise, otherwise you’ll be asking faster than I can answer.”

Xion laughs at that, a short little burst that catches them off guard and breaks the tension. Both Aced and Roxas look at her.

“Sorry,” she says. “It’s just, we kinda did that earlier. I think we’re just a little weirded out by it all. We kind of know all the keyblade wielders.”

Aced is quiet.

“Is there not enough for a union anymore?”

“What’s a Union?” Roxas asks, and it seems like a good place as any to start with the questions.

“Teams of Keyblade wielders, who banded together to collect Lux,” Aced replies. “I was, am, a Keyblade Master, the leader of Ursus Union.”

“No, we don’t have anything like that,” is the reply, and Roxas looks like he wants to ask more questions but Lea stops him.

“You had yours. Where are you even from, that you can wield a keyblade like that?” 

“Your keyblade has its own design. It comes from one’s heart,” Aced says. “As for where I’m from, I don’t suppose you’ve heard of Daybreak Town?”

There’s a round of heads shaking no, and Aced nods, taking in that information. He has been suspecting the worst truth to be told. Part of him wants to speak to Ira, to all of them really. He can’t figure this out alone. If only Luxu would say something.

“So, what are you doing here?” Xion asks, after a further moment’s thought. “You said you didn’t mean us any harm.”

“And I don’t, truly. Part of it is from the complicated answer, but to be honest, I was bored, and no one said I couldn’t go exploring. So I ended up here. I admit that I knew you were wielders, but I didn’t want to say anything. It’s been a long time since I was included in anything like that.”

Xion seems satisfied by Aced’s answer but Roxas still seems suspicious. He keeps his gaze on Aced and Aced meets it, not sure what it will accomplish but hoping that it might get Roxas to believe him. It goes on for quite some time until in a moment of frustration, Xion reaches forward and clonks their heads together. 

“What was that for?” Roxas snaps, clutching his forehead and Xion smiles.

“You were being dumb, and I think it was spreading to Aced. He’s told us what he can, and I don’t see any reason to not believe him. Even though what he’s said is kinda weird,” Xion turns to Aced. “No offence.”

Aced shakes his head.

“It’s very disjointed, I know. It’s fine.” He says.

Roxas seems unconvinced, looking from Xion to Lea with a look like he is trying to telepathically communicate something and failing. Lea just holds his hands up. 

“I’m kinda with her, Roxas. It’s weird, but I think we can trust him.”

It’s two against one, but for some reason, Roxas’s opinion is what matters most to Aced. It hurts that he seems to have damaged what trust was there. It kind of makes him feel like it’s all he’s really good at. He stands.

“It’s getting late, so I should probably head out.”

Xion looks like she’s about to say something but Aced turns and leaves before she gets a chance to.

**

Aced avoids Twilight Town for a little while after that.

He tries exploring other worlds but he finds it’s hard to stay away from the quiet town that is so familiar.

He avoids the sandpit, but he stands out enough that Xion finds him eventually.

“If you’re looking for Roxas, he’s at the clocktower,” she says after they exchange pleasantries. “You’ve been wondering about him, haven’t you?”

Aced sighs, hating how obvious he is. Xion is far too astute for her own good.

“He misses you too, you know,” she continues. “He’s just stubborn. And well, a lot of stuff happened to us, so he gets scared that friends are gonna betray us. It’s happened before. He’s also under a bit of stress, since another friend of ours is missing.”

Aced looks a little sheepish. 

“He did remind me of me,” he says with a laugh. “Hardheadedness has always been a problem for me to.”

Xion laughs at that. 

“I think he liked having someone pushing him, you know? We…we didn’t really have a teacher or anything, so someone paying attention to him, and him specifically, that really means a lot. I think he’s just kind of scared he’s going to lose that to.”

“Truth be told, I don’t want to lose it either. Even if it’s just Struggle, I’ve always liked teaching.”

“You don’t know anything about Struggle.”

“Hey, I beat Isa last time.”

“Isa also doesn’t know anything about Struggle.”

“You…you have a very mean streak.”

Xion beams.

**

Aced does make his way to the clocktower. It’s not difficult to find his way up and he finds Roxas sitting on the edge, looking out over the town as the sun sets. It’s beautiful in the warm glow, so different from the bright pinks as the sun rose over Daybreak Town. 

“Xion told you where I was, huh?” Roxas says, looking up at him. Aced nods, and Roxas doesn’t make any moves to ward him off so instead he joins the boy, letting his feet dangle over the edge. He feels like a kid again, remembering how he and Ira used to sit in a similar fashion on their own clocktower.

“You know,” he says, breaking the silence. “If I still had my Union, I would have invited you to join.”

“Yeah?” Roxas says.

“You have all the traits for it,” Aced replies. “You’re strong, and maybe a little too stubborn for your own good. I should know.”

That makes Roxas smile. 

“So, would that mean I’m working for you? Or would you train me or what?”

“Kind of a little of all those things. You seem mostly self-taught with the keyblade.”

And that, Aced realizes, is what he ultimately wants. He doesn’t want to fight these kids, even though he senses an inevitable conflict. He wants to train them, nurture them, see them grow. The way the Unions were supposed to be.

“I am, but that’s also a long and complicated story.”

Aced smiles, but doesn’t push. He’ll let secrets be secrets until they’re ready to open up. Instead, he finds a blue bar of ice cream being offered to him.

“Sea salt ice cream. Twilight Town specialty,” Roxas explains. “It’s the best.”

How long has it been since he’s had ice cream. Aced takes it, and after examining it for a moment, takes a bite. 

He coughs, surprised by the salty flavour that hits before it dissolves into a sweetness. 

“Salty but sweet,” he says, more to himself but Roxas smiles and laughs.

“That’s usually what people say when they first try it.”

Aced chuckles at that, There’s a metaphor in there somewhere but he’s not entirely sure where to apply it. 

He takes another bite as the red in the sky deepens and thinks maybe he’ll stick around for a bit longer.

And maybe next time, he’ll see if he can get Ira to come. He thinks he has an idea, and Luxu’s not in a sharing mood, well, maybe it’s his turn to take the lead.

**Author's Note:**

> Because someone needs to make Foreteller content while Nomura takes his time. 
> 
> But mostly I wanted Aced to have a nice day, make some friends, eat some ice cream. Idk, him and Roxas just seem like they could be buddies.
> 
> Thanks to PocketNoivern for beta-ing and to you for reading <3


End file.
